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  • Aberjona River Rechanneling - Winchester MA
    Winchester.us: "During the 1930s the channel upstream of the Aberjona Pond was rechanneled, section by section, as ERA and WPA projects. The projects were based on recommendations by Herbert Kellaway, published in 1928. In the Kellaway plan, three ponds for flood expansion were to be created, bordered by solid land and green grassy banks and connected by new channels. The rechanneling was designed to eliminate the mosquito problem by draining the marshes. The Town consulted the State Reclamation Board during these projects. At that time, the entire northern section of the river was lined with industries. While the 1930s improvements...
  • Ackerman Island Removal - Wichita KS
    Ackerman Island was an island in the middle of the Arkansas River. In the early 1900s the land had been developed as an amusement park, but by the late 1920s it had fallen into disuse. Works Progress Administration workers widened the Arkansas River by removing the island and sculpting it in as part of the riverbank. According to visitwhichita.com, "The baseball field survived for a while after the closing of the amusement park. By the 1930s, flooding had become a problem along the river, causing the Works Progress Administration to recommend getting rid of the sandbar to widen the river. As...
  • Alabama Street Development - El Paso TX
    Among the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects identified as completed in an El Paso Times article from June 7, 1936 was the "paving of Alabama Street and Wilson road, 7.36 miles, cost $31,588.94," as well as "Alabama Street spillway flood control project. $6408.23."
  • Austin Cary Forest - Gainesville FL
    In 1939, the federal Work Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop Austin Cary Forest, a UCF facility used for "the purposes of academic teaching, research, extension education, and demonstration". The WPA "built roads, buildings, and water draining ditches. And 100,000 board feet of pine and 80,000 cypress shingles were logged from the forest and processed at the School's sawmill."
  • Bailey Dam - Montpelier VT
    The Winooski River Local Protection Project in Vermont, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertaking, entailed "replacing an old timber dam at Montpelier by a small concrete dam (now called Bailey Dam) with tainter gates." The project is located on the Winooski River west of Main Street.  It was built sometime between 1934 and 1938.
  • Ballona Creek Channel - Los Angeles CA
    The US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing this important Los Angeles urban waterway.  Much of the creek was "channelized", i.e.,  lined with concrete, as part of a massive flood-control project undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District following the great Los Angeles flood of 1938. Ballona Creek is short river in southwestern Los Angeles County that drains an area exending from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It flows through Culver City and...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Culver Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Duquesne Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Higuera St. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: La Cienega Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Lincoln Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Overland Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Washington Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Banita Creek Bridge - Nacogdoches TX
    Constructed in 1941, with WPA labor, the Banita Creek Bridge crosses the waterway of the same name with three spans of reinforced concrete girder. The 100’-long bridge has a 24’-wide roadway with cantilevered sidewalks on both sides. The hand railing is composed of open concrete balustrade divided into sections by stepped Art Deco-like posts. The approach railing at the end of bridge angles out, following the skew of the wingwalls below. The WPA erected the bridge as part of a larger project that widened and improved the channels of Bonita and Lanana creeks. As part of the project, work-relief crews built sidewalks...
  • Beach Street Improvements - Manchester MA
    Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers conducted erosion control and other improvement work along Beach Street in Manchester, Mass. WPA Bulletin: Protection from damaging tides is given by this Manchester WPA riprap wall constructed along Beach Street where commercial fishermen and other boatmen use the wall landing. The entire surrounding area was also graded and beautified by WPA.
  • Beaver Dam Brook Improvements - Framingham MA
    In 1935 the F.E.R.A. and W.P.A. conducted erosion and hazard-removal work along Beaver Dam Brook in Framingham, Mass. "The brook was cleaned out, shaped and the bushes cut on the banks from the Ashland line to the B. &. A. Railroad near Waverly Street, a distance of about 3.1 miles."
  • Bellevue-Wilfred Drainage District improvements - Santa Rosa CA
    The first WPA project in Sonoma County, California made improvements to a large reclamation project which is mostly forgotten today. Historically, drainage of swampland and naturally poorly drained areas of the United States opened up millions of acres to farming, especially in the Corn Belt of the Midwest, where vast tracts of “wet” prairie were drained for settlement. Government surveys indicated that nearly a fourth of the nation’s potential agricultural land, approximately 216 million acres, was too poorly drained for productive farming. At first, privately financed companies organized to reclaim these swamplands. Created in 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company had the dual...
  • Bennington Local Protection Project - Bennington VT
    The Bennington Local Protection Project was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), in Bennington, Vermont during the Great Depression. Later reconstruction projects were handled by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. "The Bennington Local Protection Project is located along the left bank of Roaring Branch, a tributary of the Walloomsac River, in Bennington. The project protects Bennington from damage caused by the floodwaters of Roaring Branch. The project, about one mile in length, begins about 1,000 feet upstream of the Brooklyn Bridge and ends on Park Street. It consists of: Three sections of concrete floodwall with stone slope protection...
  • Black Fork Creek Walls - Tyler TX
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook mosquito control work in Tyler, Texas. Work included lining a creek bed with rubble masonry walls, and paved cement pan to keep down mosquitoes.
  • Blackstone River Stone Wall - Pawtucket RI
    The WPA-built stone wall runs 1000 feet along the Blackstone River through Pawtucket, adjacent to Pawtucket City Hall and Historic Slater Mill. Both of those sites are located on Roosevelt Ave and are on the National Registry of Historic Places. The wall runs from behind 137 Roosevelt Ave to 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 02860. It was built in 1940 and is still in excellent condition.
  • Boneyard Creek Development - Urbana IL
    Boneyard Creek runs through the cities of Urbana and Champaign. In 1934 "Civil Works Administration (CWA) workers completed some maintenance work on the Boneyard Creek in Urbana and Champaign. Work consisted of clearing obstructions to the flow, cleaning channel banks, and stabilizing channel banks with timbers." Today, "Land use in the watershed is virtually all urban (residential, commercial, industrial)... The watershed and the channel have been greatly modified, the natural flood plain is highly developed."   (www.isws.illinois.edu)
  • Brea Creek Flood Control Project - Fullerton CA
    In 1940, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) was involved in concrete channelization along the lower portion of Brea Creek in Fullerton, CA. As with most of the rivers in Southern California, development came under the Flood Control Act of 1936 following massive destruction from intense flooding in the early 20th Century. Fullerton had a history of flooding with large floods in both 1900 and 1916. These prompted the development of the Orange County Flood Control District in 1927. Then in 1938, a large flood refocused attention on creating additional flood control measures. In the area, “2.90 inches of rain accumulated in...
  • Breakheart Reservation - Saugus MA
    The CCC conducted extensive work on Breakheart Reservation to turn it into a public park. From the Friends of Breakheart Reservation website: “undreds of men lived and worked here, paid $30 a month, out of which they kept $5 and sent the rest home to their families. It was the CCC who helped develop this land into a recreational area with bridle paths, trails, and picnic areas.” From Wikipedia: "In 1934 the executors for Johnson and Clough sold the Breakheart Hill Forest to the Metropolitan District Commission for upwards of $40,000. The MDC then turned the land over to the Civilian...
  • Breeds Pond Wall - Lynn MA
    Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) workers worked at Breeds Pond in Lynn, Mass. WPA Bulletin: Bacterial dangers are eliminated by the WPA construction of several thousand yards of large-stone, rip-rap work, along the vertical banks of Breed's Pond, one of Lynn's main water storage units. This wall prevents road embankment dirt and clay-bearing silt from being washed into the pond.
  • Breezy Point Jetty - Queens NY
    "Breezy Point began in the early 20th century as a shantytown called Irish Riviera. Then, the sandy sliver of land that lies on the far western edge of Rockaway Island was considerably thinner than it is today. In 1935, as part of the New Deal, the federal government built a jetty to keep sand from accumulating at the mouth of New York Harbor. Behind this boulder jetty, the sandbar grew considerably and allowed year-round residencies."   (https://www.eenews.net) "The land began accreting in Breezy Point after the Federal Government built a jetty on the peninsula's westernmost tip in 1935 to prevent sand from clogging...
  • Brenton Point Sea Wall - Newport RI
    "At the southern-most tip of Aquidneck Island lies a WPA sea wall that helps protect the historic seaside city of Newport, Rhode Island. Just feet inland from the 10-foot-high concrete sea wall that runs over a mile sit some of the largest and most historic mansions in the country. The Mansion District extends up through town and includes the homes of some of the wealthiest industrialists in the US at the turn of the 19th century, including coal baron Edward Julius Berwind whose house and "servants quarters" you can now tour. Newport's Mansion District and wealthy community relied, in part, on the 2,229...
  • Brimfield State Forest - Brimfield MA
    The CCC assisted in the development of this state forest. From Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "This rustic shelter is the only one of its type still remaining. Dingley Dell Dam was another important CCC project at this forest, where there are many CCC camp buildings still remaining."
  • Brush Creek Flood Control - Kansas City MO
    Pictured is some of the remaining original paving installed by the WPA along Brush Creek as a flood control project in 1935. The project has a controversial history due to its relation to political machine boss Tom Pendergast's Concrete Company. "Other buildings built with Pendergast concrete were the Municipal Auditorium and Police Headquarters. Paving Brush Creek began November 1935 at a cost originally estimated at $1,395,000 and employing at one time 1,647 WPA workers. Concrete was laid eight to 10 inches thick and 70 feet wide." (www.kclibrary.org) The rumor is that there are bodies under the concrete, though with further improvements, no...
  • Buffalo Creek Park Dam - Coggon IA
    The New Deal dam in Coggon, located in northeastern Linn County, was replaced in 1967 by the current dam, known as the Buffalo Creek Park Dam.41 The New Deal dam was built in order to restore Manhattan Lake in Coggon. Construction began in September 1934 with labor supplied by FERA. Although the date of completion was not discovered, it was originally estimated that the dam would take four months to construct, suggesting an expected completion date in early 1935. However, just as with the FERA dam in Quasqueton, the construction of the Coggon Dam took considerably longer than originally estimated....
  • Bulkheads - Surf City NJ
    The federal Works Progress Administration constructed bulkheads in Surf City, New Jersey ca. 1936 to mitigate soil erosion. WPA N.J. Project No. 5-248.
  • Canal System Dike - Whitehall NY
    In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a dike to mitigate flood hazards on New York State Barge Canal in Whitehall. What was then referred to as "Barge Canal" is known today as New York State Canal System. Whitehall is located at the junction of Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain (New York Canals).    
  • Carlton Ave. Retaining Wall - Bethlehem PA
    "Stone retaining walls that line streets and highways throughout the region -- along Route 611 in Easton, Spruce Street in Tamaqua and Carlton Avenue in Bethlehem -- were WPA projects." This approximately 350-foot-long retaining wall begins on Carlton Avenue halfway between W 8th and W 9th Streets, then curves to the west on W 9th St. to Hess St. The wall is identified by an inscribed stone at its north end (on Carlton Ave.): "Erected by W. P. A. 1935"
  • Carson River (East Fork) Erosion Control - Gardnerville NV
    The Civilian Conservation Corps, in conjunction with the Soil Erosion Service (SES) / Soil Conservation Service (SCS) worked to conduct erosion control work on the east fork of the Carson River. The work involved straightening sharp bends and stabilizing the riverbanks.
  • Cascadilla Creek Retaining Walls - Ithaca NY
    The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed retaining walls along Cascadilla Creek in Ithaca, New York during the 1930s.  The channelized creek lies between North and South Cascadilla Avenue, and the historic photograph shown here was likely taken somewhere between Cayuga and Tioga Streets. The walls are still in good shape, working to control flooding along the creek.
  • Cat Canyon Tree Planting - Nye County NV
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted afforestation and reforestation efforts in what were then known as "North Cat, Middle Cat, and South Cat" canyons, believed to be located on what is now restricted property in southern Nevada. The efforts were taken in part for erosion control.
  • CCC Camp - Madisonville TX
    A marker erected in 1988 explains the Madisonville CCC camps history: "A part of the national Civilian Conservation Corps program of the New Deal era, Camp Sam Houston in Madisonville was a soil conservation camp. Begun in July 1935 and occupied by workers one month later, the camp provided jobs for 196 men. Members of the camp worked with area farmers and ranchers, demonstrating techniques of soil erosion control and pasture management. Covering a radius of 21 miles, CCC improvement projects included all of Madison County, as well as portions of Grimes, Leon, and Walker Counties. The camp was closed in...
  • CCC Camp Heppner (former) - Heppner OR
    In 1935, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers completed Camp Heppner on a site just east of the Morrow County Fairgrounds’ race course and north of the Heppner Highway. From its founding to closure in November 1941, several CCC companies resided there while assisting local ranchers by implementing soil conservation demonstration projects.  No evidence of the camp remains. The Heppner Gazette-Times, the town’s weekly newspaper, reported in early July 1935 that local carpenters and “28 CCC helpers” were running ahead of schedule in completion of the camp. The report also stated that the work had entirely eliminated unemployment in the town given the...
  • CCC Camp NM-3/SP-23 - Muir Woods National Monument CA
    The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a camp on Mount Tamalpais in October 1933 and CCC enrollees did extensive work around Mount Tamalpais in Marin County CA, north of the Golden Gate.  They carried out improvements in Muir Woods National Monument on the south flank of the mountain, Mt. Tamalpais State Park which encircles the summit and Marin Water District on the north side of the mountain.  The National Park Service says this about the camp: "October 1933: Often called the "busiest month" in the history of Muir Woods, this month saw the arrival of the Civilian Conservation Corps, or the CCC,...
  • CCC Camp Site - Milwaukee WI
    A wooden sign marks the site of former CCC Camp Bluemound, Company 2606, which operated in the vicinity from 1933-1942.
  • CCC Company 884 - Rush Springs OK
    A CCC monument erected in 1987 commemorates CCC Company 884 which worked out of Rush Springs, Oklahoma. This camp focused primarily on "soil conservation due to the nature of the soil in this area. The work performed here consisted of terracing and other work to deter soil erosion...A granite monument is erected east of the municipal pool on the east side of Jeff Davis Park, on the east side of Rush Springs. CCC Company 884 camp was located in this area between 1933 and 1942." (waymarking.com) The monument inscription includes: "To all the young men who served and to future generations that...
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